A few weeks ago, I had a 7 year old female cat come in for a physical exam. She just wasn’t acting like herself. At that time there was a mild fever. We did bloodwork and the results just about floored me. Her neutrophils (white blood cells actively fighting an infection) were six times normal. When I called the owners with the results they told me that she was now licking herself more often. I was a bit confused until the owners reminded me that she was intact. That is when all the puzzle pieces came together.
Cats are induced ovulators. This means that once they go into heat at about 6 months of age, they stay in heat until they mate. If they don’t meet a male for a year, they will literally stay in heat the entire time. Ditto for 7 years. Unfortunately, as they age, the risk of neoplasia (cancer), pyometra (infection of the uterus) and endometritis (inflammation/infection of the uterine wall) goes up.
We scheduled surgery for the next day. As you can see from the picture, it was much larger than it should be. When I opened it up (you’ll have to come in to see that neat picture) I found that she had both endometritis and pyometra. Certainly one of those surgeries where “to cut is to cure”.
No comments:
Post a Comment